1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to electrical power load control systems and, more particularly, to prioritizing incoming and outgoing load management messages received at a gateway of the system, to ensure that all regulated load management messages are processed before general Internet Protocol (IP) traffic.
2. Description of Related Art
The separation of message traffic into different types of data is a well-known and well-understood practice. This is practiced in a variety of systems today.
Dial-up access is available to customers, but is considerably slower than broadband access. For many rural customers, this prohibits use of some Internet services, such as automatic updates of software.
Currently, rural customers lack inexpensive options for broadband Internet access. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) question the business value of providing broadband service in rural areas. There seems to be little profit from providing service when installation costs are high and the small number of potential customers would make it difficult for an ISP to recoup those costs. Phone companies provide Internet access through digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, but customers must be within a few miles of a central office. This eliminates many rural customers from Internet access via DSL.
The most commonly-used option for rural customers is provided through satellite Internet service providers. However, there are a number of disadvantages to customers associated with these providers, including high latency, unreliability, and fair access policy. High latency is a particular problem for those customers needing high interactivity, such as online gamers. Unreliability can be attributed to bad weather and sunspots that can cause interruption in service. If a service provider uses a fair access policy, a heavy user may see service degradation after considerable traffic.
One of the most cost effective options that has emerged is the utilization of advanced wireless communications standards to reach rural customers. Traditional or new wireless mobile operators (WMOs) offer a logical alternative to the installation of a physical link for high speed broadband Internet access. These providers operate a conventional point to point Internet connection, such as cable or T1 service, but also make that connection available wirelessly to customers using technology such as High Speed Data Packet Access (HSDPA), Code Division Multiple Access EVDO Revision A (CDMA Rev. A), Long Term Evolution (LTE), or IEEE 802.16 WiMax.
Independently owned Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) are small operations run by local providers out of necessity in markets where WMOs have not yet provisioned advanced wireless services. These WISPs emerged simply because of the need for broadband access and are not focused on profit. These local providers may include municipal WISPS, “mom and pop” WISPS, and nonprofits. Most of these smaller wireless providers operate and deliver services in unlicensed industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) radio bands and utilize IEEE 802.11(a-n) delivery mechanisms. Even when a WISP exists in an area, customers may not take advantage of the service because of the additional work that may be required on the part of the customer to gain access.